We are not as close to having a decent product on the field as some think

1) we are too old

2) this FO made some bad decisions on personnel

3) the offensive and defensive co-ordinators made some bad decisions on what would be effective for the groups of players that they had

The good news is that the guys in charge here both on the field and in the FO, IMO, are a BIG improvement over what we had in those positions in December of 2009 - HOWEVER, we did not make as much progress from the change as many of us would have liked

we are in better shape because we have these guys and HOPEFULLY they have learned from their many mistakes

we still need to get a lot younger.

I hope we only bring in young free agents and we add to our draft picks by trading some of our better older players - we are not far off but I hope these guys don't try and put as competitive a group out there as quickly as possible - that has not worked ANYWHERE

Our FO needs to ensure they only add young guys that can develop together just like the other successful franchises do

I'm not advocating having no older players - I'm just hoping that we can get away from having one of the oldest rosters in the NFL which we seem to have had for many years now, that might have worked in the seventies and eighties - NOT in the NFL of today

It's that time of the year - RUN THE DAMN BALL - if they figure out how to stop it then find another way to RUN THE DAMN BALL

I don't agree that Keamatoe was a bust. He was coming back from a serious injury, especially for a huge (and a little older) guy. That injury normally takes 2 years to recover from.

Our Defense had so many issues last year -- moving to a 3-4, Keamatoe coming back from injury, Haynesworth being a turd, several (way too many) guys playing out of position (McIntosh, Carter, Gholston), guys getting hurt, like Landry Horton, etc...

Adding two solid players this draft and AJ will make a difference. I'd say, keep Carlos too.

I want to see what Henson can do this year too. He looked great in preseason.

While we won't make a jump to a top D, I think this group can make a huge jump in production.

fredp45 wrote:I don't agree that Keamatoe was a bust. He was coming back from a serious injury, especially for a huge (and a little older) guy. That injury normally takes 2 years to recover from.

Exactly, I haven't understood in all the Kemo bashing why no one has recognized that.

Do we still have him? I remember lots of references he would be released but none that he was. For the reason you state I'd love to have him at least in camp this year, particularly since this isn't a hole we filled in the draft and he's been a quality NT, he seems like he'd be worth it to provide mentoring as well.

Groucho: Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him

Proverb: Failure is not falling down. Failure is not getting up again

Twain: A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way

Ryan Harris and Davin Joseph are my 1-2 as well' After that I'd go NT and ILB. Even if we use John Beck this season, we might actually be pretty good.

"Guess [Ryan Kerrigan] really does have a good motor. And is relentless. And never quits on a play. And just keeps coming. And probably eats Wheaties and drinks Apple Pie smoothies and shaves with Valvoline." -Dan Steinberg DC Sports Bog

fredp45 wrote:I don't agree that Keamatoe was a bust. He was coming back from a serious injury, especially for a huge (and a little older) guy. That injury normally takes 2 years to recover from.

Exactly, I haven't understood in all the Kemo bashing why no one has recognized that.

Do we still have him? I remember lots of references he would be released but none that he was. For the reason you state I'd love to have him at least in camp this year, particularly since this isn't a hole we filled in the draft and he's been a quality NT, he seems like he'd be worth it to provide mentoring as well.

fredp45 wrote:I don't agree that Keamatoe was a bust. He was coming back from a serious injury, especially for a huge (and a little older) guy. That injury normally takes 2 years to recover from.

Exactly, I haven't understood in all the Kemo bashing why no one has recognized that.

Do we still have him? I remember lots of references he would be released but none that he was. For the reason you state I'd love to have him at least in camp this year, particularly since this isn't a hole we filled in the draft and he's been a quality NT, he seems like he'd be worth it to provide mentoring as well.

I'm pretty sure we resigned him.

He signed a 2 year deal last year won't be a FA until 2012... rumors were he was going to get cut the day after Dock got the axe

On the positive side, the Redskins' current payroll is $75.7 million, meaning Snyder would have to spend close to $45 million in cash to meet the potential minimum floor requirements. Imagine a system that forces Snyder to spend.

So if We do have $45 million to spend on salaries. How many free agents can we reasonably sign?

1nik am I understanding this cap thing right? Not sure about how the $19 million in cap space applies ($10 plus the $9 milliion from Haynesworth and McNabb assuming that they will no longer with the team.

This list has us starting at $35 with $10 million left to bid higher. It is expected that Asomugha will command $19 million, so that leaves $ 5 million to bid on the others. This is simple Math but I an realizing that it isn't that simple. I need to figure inrookie salaries which I think that I heard an estimate of $5 million. I also need to figure in bonuses and how the contract is structured for a cap hit total. Using OJ Atogwe's contract gives some insight to how it might look for older FA, say 30 ish (OJ is 30).

Is this an example of how our FO will handle contracts of older Free Agents, 30ish?

OJ made $2 million in 2010 for 2011, his contract called for $4 million (rounded from $3.5 mil).

From us he gets a $900,000 base salary and a $6.5 million dollar signing bonus for a 2011 cap hit of $7.4 million. Looking at OJ's contract, Asomugha's salary and signing bonus would have to huge and even though he is 30 like OJ, his bonus would likely have to be spread out putting us back in the old way of doing business. I say pass on Asommugha and look at Joseph or an even more less expensive guy than Joseph - someone who can cover and catch the ball.

OJ Atogwe's contract.

The key provision is a fully guaranteed $6.5 million roster bonus to be paid on the fifth day of the 2011 league year along with a base salary of $900,000, also guaranteed. As currently structured that will mean that $7.4 million of the guaranteed money will go against the 2011 salary cap.This is a radical departure from the way the team has done business in the past. Instead of taking a large cap hit early in most deals, the Redskins would backload money later in contracts to lessen the immediate salary cap hit of big-money deals. That would help create more cap room in the short term but it would create issues down the road when players were in declining productivity but still carrying large salary cap figures thanks to the structure of the deals.